AP Psych: Social Psychology and Personality Quiz (2/13/25)

attribution

how people explain behavior and mental processes of themselves and others

dispositional attribution

internal qualities of others (intelligence, personality, etc)

situational attribution

external factors oor circumstances that are experienced

fundamental attribution error

the tendency of observers to analyze others’ behavior by underestimating the impact of the situation and overestimating the impact of personal disposition

actor-observer bias

where people tend to attribute their own behavior to situational factors but others’ behavior to internal factors

self serving bias

occurs when people attribute their successes to internal factors but blame their failures on external factors

explanatory style

how people explain good/bad events in their lives and the lives of others

self-fulfilling prophecy

behaving in a way that elicits behaviors from others that confirm one’s beliefs about themselves or others

mere exposure effect

how much you like something is related to how often you are exposed to it

social comparison

when people evaluate themselves based upon comparisons to other members of society or social circles

relative deprivation

the feeling of being worse off than others in comparison to some type of standard; can also apply to oneself (ex: feeling worse off than your previous self)

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward people

stereotype

a generalized belief about someone

prejudice

an unjustifiable attitude toward people involving stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

out-group

“them”; those perceived as different or apart from the ingroup

in-group bias

“us”; people with whom we share a common identity

belief perseverance

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

confirmation bias

the tendency to search for info that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

cognitive dissonance

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

internal locus of control

having personal control over our own behaviors and fate

external locus of control

we blame external influences or outside forces for our behaviors; beyond our personal control